Back OrderedThis item is not currently available for purchase. It may be a few weeks up to several months before they are back in stock. If you would like to be notified when this item returns please send a blank eMail to backorders@kultofathena.com with subject ''DSA1542BRS'' and we'll let you know as soon as it is back.

It is a misconception that European Medieval and Renaissance warriors had little technique, and instead pounded each other with grievously heavy weapons until one perished or collapsed, defeated from exhaustion. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and the surviving fighting manuals from the Renaissance arms masters prove this. A wealth of demonstrated technique is illustrated, much of it intricate and requiring more from the realm of timing, footwork, technique and finesse than brute force.

The warrior had many advanced techniques; feigned attacks, parry and counter-attack actions, grappling, intricate disarming, half-swording, hilt-striking and quick, timed cuts. - The skilled fighter utilized a vast wealth of techniques to overcome his opponents. A favored weapon for the teaching masters of the day was the longsword, for it allowed all of the above techniques to be utilized.

These masters, concentrated in Germany, Switzerland and Italy, would have taught their war-minded pupils to use a longsword such as this. This one, dubbed the Longford from Darksword Armory, has the strongly tapering blade favored in the late medieval and Renaissance era. A strong taper greatly aids to shave weight off the tip, making for a better balanced sword that can also execute deadly accurate thrusts. A thickened ricasso above the blade gives a good grip for the gloved half-swording technique. A curved guard halts the cuts of the foe, and an elongated scent stopper pommel gives a longer grip, allowing for increased leverage in a swing. The namesake of the sword, Longford, is a castle in Wiltshire, England.

The unsharpened blade is made from 1060 High Carbon Steel and is tempered to a Rockwell Hardness of 53. The blade is fitted through a steel guard and pommel and is peened in place for strength. The wooden grip is tightly wrapped and stitched with brown leather. The sword comes with a wood-core scabbard with a steel chape. It is wrapped in form-fitting brown leather and includes an integrated leather sword belt.